Altroconsumo’s comparison shows Chinese brands competing at the top of the smartphone market, with battery life, cameras, durability and repairability separating the winners from the compromises.
Altroconsumo’s latest smartphone comparison points to a market that is no longer defined by price alone. The consumer group tested eight Chinese-made models across premium, mid-range, foldable and budget segments, weighing performance, camera quality, battery life, durability and value for money. The results suggest that brands such as Oppo, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Honor and Motorola now compete directly with the biggest names in the sector, but the gaps between them remain meaningful.
At the top of the table sits the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, which Altroconsumo scored at 84 out of 100 and named best in test. According to the association, its main strength is a Hasselblad-developed camera system with two 200-megapixel sensors, a 10x periscope zoom and a wide-angle lens. The device also performed strongly on battery endurance, with a 7,050mAh cell delivering about 50 and a half hours in a realistic usage scenario. Those advantages come at a price, however: roughly €1,270, a weight of 237 grams and no charger in the box.
Close behind is the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which scored 82 points and offers a different value proposition. Altroconsumo says it costs about €970, putting it nearly €300 below the Oppo while still targeting buyers who want a high-end photographic phone. Its Leica-branded camera package includes a one-inch main sensor and a 200-megapixel telephoto unit. The battery, rated at 6,000mAh, lasted around 48 hours in testing, and the phone was also judged capable in low light. The trade-offs were a C rating for repairability and the absence of a charger.
The most interesting battleground may be below €600, where the OnePlus 15R and Oppo Reno 15 5G offer much of the premium experience at a lower cost. The OnePlus model, priced at about €535, scored 80 points and stood out for endurance: its 7,400mAh battery reached 59 and a half hours in Altroconsumo’s realistic scenario and more than 40 hours even at maximum screen brightness. It does, though, omit a telephoto lens and wireless charging, and one sample showed a cracked back after repeated drop testing.
The Oppo Reno 15 5G, at around €400, scored 77 points and was judged solid for its class, helped by a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, an uncommon feature at this level. Its battery lasted about 48 hours, while IP68 and IP69 ratings strengthened its resistance credentials. Performance from the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip is adequate for everyday use, though not for demanding tasks. Altroconsumo also warned not to confuse it with the Reno 15 F and Reno 15 FS, which are different devices.
Motorola’s Razr 60 Ultra shows how much the foldable category has matured. Altroconsumo gave it 78 points and labelled it best buy among the foldables it tested. At 198 grams, it remains compact when closed, opens to a 7-inch display and kept its hinge intact through more than 50,000 open-and-close cycles. That puts it ahead of the Razr 50 Ultra, which scored 73 points and was let down mainly by weaker photography and shorter battery life. The newer model lasted about 44 and a half hours, compared with roughly 37 hours for its predecessor.
Among cheaper phones, Honor and Poco illustrate the compromises buyers still have to make. The Honor Magic8 Lite, at around €280, scored 73 points and relies on stamina and toughness, with a 7,500mAh battery that lasted about 55 hours and an OLED display of 6.8 inches. It also carries IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K certification. Yet its camera remains limited despite a 108-megapixel main sensor, and performance stays in the mid-range. The Poco M8 5G, priced near €230, scored 67 points and offers a bright 6.8-inch AMOLED panel and light weight, but Altroconsumo criticised the intrusive built-in advertising in its software, the modest camera set-up and the weaker IP65 protection.
The broader lesson from the tests is straightforward. Chinese brands are no longer second-tier options, but the buyer still needs to read beyond the headline specification. Battery capacity, software behaviour, repairability, durability and the exact model name can matter as much as raw hardware. In a market where the badge on the box tells only part of the story, the small print is often what determines whether a phone is genuinely good value.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes only. Readers are advised to exercise their own judgement, conduct due diligence, or consult a qualified expert before acting on any information provided.
